Bulldogs Host Brown on Senior Day

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - With the 2009 Ivy League season on the verge of completion, the Yale baseball team (12-21, 6-10 Ivy) finds itself with a chance to factor heavily in the battle atop the Red Rolfe Division standings. Second-place Brown (18-16-1, 8-4 Ivy) comes to New Haven on Saturday sitting just two games behind first place Dartmouth with four contests against the Bulldogs remaining on the schedule. After Saturday's noon doubleheader at Yale Field, the Elis and Bears will close out the regular season on Sunday with a noon twin bill in Providence.

Pitching has been the "x-factor" to the Bulldogs' success in 2009. The Yale staff has posted an earned run average of 3.12 in the Elis' 12 wins as compared to a hefty 8.50 ERA in 21 losses. The most consistent hurler, who rates among the Ivy League leaders in most pitching categories, is senior Brandon Josselyn. The 6'4 right-hander is 5-2 with a 4.35 earned run average in 49.2 innings this season. Josselyn, who has not suffered a loss since March 16, has been even better against Ivy League competition, posting a 3-0 record with a 3.29 earned run average in four starts against Ancient Eight opponents.

Junior first baseman Trygg Larsson-Danforth heads the Yale line-up from the clean-up spot. Larsson-Danforth is batting .353 with six home runs and 33 runs batted in, all of which are team bests. He also leads the Bulldogs in runs scored (25), slugging percentage (.571) and on-base percentage (.426). Senior captain Stefan Schropp is currently in the midst of a six game hitting streak in which he has raised his average from .277 to .312. On the season, Schropp has two home runs, 25 runs batted in and a .417 on-base percentage bolstered by his team-high 20 walks.

Senior Robert Papenhause leads the Brown lineup with a .365 batting average. He has also driven in 29 runs, making him one of eight Bears with more than 10 RBI. Sophomore Robert Greskoff has swatted a team-best 10 home runs with 34 RBI. Greskoff and senior Matt Nuzzo are both hitting .340, and Nuzzo has racked up a team-high 35 runs batted in. Senior Dan Shapiro rounds out a dangerous quartet of sluggers with a .350 batting average.

Though all six of Brown's regular starters sport earned run averages above 5.20, right-hander Rob Wilcox and southpaw Mark Gormley have combined for a 7-3 record behind the potent Bears' offense. Wilcox is 3-1 with a 5.21 ERA and Gormley owns a 4-2 record and a 5.51 ERA. Sophomore Matthew Kimball, a right-hander, has established himself as the closer of the Brown staff with nine saves. Kimball is 2-3 with a 6.67 ERA in 29.2 innings of work.